Catalyst
by TheMonsterGirl
Summary: Definition: An event or chemical substance that causes a reaction or chain of events to occur following its introduction into the environment around it. What if Kagome hadn't been pulled through the Well at the tender age of 15? What if she managed avoid her fate for a full four years? Would that have changed her experience once she finally did fall through the cracks of time? AU.


**Disclaimer:** I think we all know I am in no way responsible for the ownership or creation of the Inuyasha characters/universe, but just for the record: I thoroughly admit to playing in someone else's sandbox here. All credit to that which was mentioned above given to Rumiko Takahashi.

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_Prologue_

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_Late... late... late..._

Crisp, clean white shoes pounded against the pavement and Kagome took a moment to admonish herself for what must have been the thirtieth time. She'd taken one too many liberties with the morning – as per the usual – and now she would have to sprint the whole twelve blocks to school if she was going to have any hope of making it before the last bell.

_Curse whoever invented the snooze button. _How was the average teenage girl possibly expected to resist the promise of another full ten minutes of sleep when so cruelly pulled back into the waking world by such an unforgiving, shrill ring? Talk about unrealistic expectations.

The middle school student continued tallying her justifications for future use, tearing through her family's shrine yard at something less than what her dear old grandfather would classify as a respectful pace.

She was just preparing herself to take the first vault down the stone steps that led to the street below – because what reasonable person is going to wait around to take them safely, one at a time – when she turned the corner and found the door to the ancient well house hanging open like some great, hungry maw.

A great, hungry maw that was about to swallow up her little brother.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she chimed, skidding to a halt. In all their years living at the family shrine, she had never seen the door of this particular place open.

She didn't receive a response.

Completely forgetting her previous haste, she abandoned her bag on the walk and trotted over to her younger sibling.

"Hey." She poked him in the center of his back, snickering deviously as he nearly jumped out of his own skin in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," her brother grumbled, creeping a few inches closer to the threshold of the old building.

"You're not supposed to play in there," she hummed, but couldn't help leaning in as well, her feet stepping up onto creaking wooden planks as she poked her head through the doorway. It was just as damp and unpleasant as she would have imagined, even with the morning rays filtering through slated windows.

"I'm not, it's the cat," Souta huffed, lowering himself onto the dirty floorboards. He shook a small bowl of food scraps carefully, clicking his tongue in an effort to coax small animal out.

"Did he go down to the well?" Kagome lowered herself into a squat, narrowing her eyes as they began to adjust to the darkness. She looked over at her brother briefly before scanning the shaded room for the plump ball of fur. It certainly was creepy; cobwebs clung to every inch of the walls and ceiling, and a thick layer of grime coated every other available surface. _Man, Gramps really let this place go...And he calls _me_ the lazy teenager..._

"I don't know where else he could be." The boy pushed forward another half foot and called, "Buyo!"

The siblings listened as the silence drummed on.

"Go down and look for him, then," the older sister shrugged, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"But why do I gotta be the one...?" he whined.

"Because you're the one that's looking for him." The teenager wasn't overly concerned. Buyo was renowned for being your typical lazy feline, the little jerk was probably just waiting to see if he could hitch a ride back up all those steps instead of walking them himself.

A quiet scratching echoed up the old stairwell, like blunt nails dragging across wood grain.

Souta flinched, taking shelter behind the protection of his big sister's back. "Something's down there!" he cried, small hands gripping at the fabric of her uniform.

"Uh, yeah, the cat." She rolled her eyes, pushing off the ground in one fluid motion. She stretched, limbs having grown stiff sitting in that hunched over position, as she took one slow step forward.

The sunlight caught on the silver at her wrist, tugging her gaze down towards the sleek metal hands of the tempered clockface, time ticking forth with unrelenting determination.

"Ah!" Kagome shrieked, eyes rounding in panic. "Sorry, Souta! But I've gotta run!" She spun around, dashing out the door and scooping up her narrow black schoolbag as she scrambled to make it to her first class on time.

The boy shook his head, glancing back into the blackened shine just in time to see a flash of white and brown fluff lumbering up the creaky wooden steps.

"Jeez! There you are!" he complained as the animal began to wash its dusty face, puffing from the effort it took to scale the shrine steps. He picked the lazy little creature up under its front legs, trekking back out into the daylight and making sure to fasten the door shut tight behind him.

"Now _I'm _late. Thanks a lot, Buyo," the boy grumbled before shoving his hands in his pockets and finally leaving for school.

The cat watched with sleepy green eyes as the young boy disappeared down the stone stairway leading away from the well house. Whiskers pulling back as he yawned, exposing sharp teeth and a curling pink tongue.

One pointed ear swiveled back of its own accord at the sound of scraping wood and he cocked his head, plodding back up to the closed entryway and pawing at the sliding door uselessly. When this proved to be too tiring, the feline seated himself and meowed in annoyance.

There was a beat where the sound ceased... then it was replaced by a muffled, inhuman scream that made the animal duck down in fear, the fur along its spine bristling as a hiss escaped its short snout.

The monster trapped deep within the well house thrashed in crippled violence. _"I won't let you escape next time..." _it whispered as its life faded with the increasing distance the girl put between them. It uttered one final growl of frustration before falling back into the silence of death, its restless spirit coiling around the sacred ground like a snake closing in around its prey.

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**AN: **This is a story idea that has been floating around in my head for years. I've tried starting it once before, but didn't get too terribly far with it. Well, I'm feeling a little inspired as of late... and am lacking a project, so maybe posting this will encourage me to continue. If you'd like to see more or let me know what you thought, drop me a review and hopefully that'll be the kick in the butt I need.


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